Being in the King's service

Being in the KING’S service 10th July 11

1 Tim 1:1-17
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope,
2 To Timothy, a true son in the faith:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.
3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia --- remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine,
4 nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith.
5 Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith,
6 from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk,
7 desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.
8 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully,
9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine,
11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.
12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry,
13 although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
14 And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.
15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
16 However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.
17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Living a life that really matters
*Q. What do you think is a life that really matters?
*Q. Do you agree that most people think it is the kind of jobs they have?

In 1 Timothy Paul the aged Apostle was writing to Timothy who was left in Ephesus to establish the church that has already been started. Paul here writes of the most important matter – God’s love for His church and His will through His church.

To live a life that really matters is to be in the King’s service
From this passage we see a few vital things about being in the King’s service.

We are to:-
· Obey HIS commands – His command is not a suggestion or advice to us
· Receive HIS grace, mercy & peace –Paul obtained mercy and received His exceedingly abundant grace. Timothy need to receive and so does all of us
· Learn and teach HIS doctrine soundly – we are to stop wrong teachings, not to be deceived or be distracted from the truth
· Know HIS heart – LOVE – love the Lord will all our hearts, souls, mind and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves
· Be faithful to HIS mission to bring the Glorious Gospel of Grace and Truth to the lost

We see here that Paul was constantly before the throne of God, the throne of grace to OBTAIN MERCY and find GRACE to help!